I use the surface of my wheelthrown pots as a canvas to build layers of colour and texture. Using a combination of monoprinting, sgraffitto and brush work, I attempt to create a palimpsest that evokes a sense of erasure and reuse, loss and enrichment, telling a story and stopping short of it. My own journey as an immigrant and a traveller hidden in these layers somewhere. I seek visual inspiration in old, time-worn buildings that convey the same sense of faded, eroded, many layered stories. The marks of casual graffiti on such surfaces add another layer, as they convey the universal human wish to be seen and to communicate: “I am/was here”.
Working with white stoneware clay, I use a mix of colour slips, stains and underglazes to achieve the desired finish. The pots are glazed from the inside leaving most of the outside surface unglazed to preserve the texture.
I received a PhD in Communication from Texas A&M University, USA in 2009 and went on to teach at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences in Mumbai, India (the country of my birth). In 2017, I transitioned to pursue my passion for ceramics and moved to Stoke on Trent to join a two year programme in pottery at Clay College Stoke. Since graduating I have been working from my studio located at the heritage Spode Works building in the city. As an Associate Artist with the British Ceramic Biennial. My practice also includes working with clay on community projects.